Don't buy the little old lady's car that's never been serviced

[Buckmark]

Just a fun thread for the non gearheads on here and a reminder to everyone else to service your vehicles! (or not, i got bills to pay  )

So who knows what caused the cylinder on the right to be so clean? Impeccable maintenance maybe 
Nope that's not it.
That is lack of maintenance in this case, original coolant from 2005 
A good customer of mine bought a used vehicle for his daughter about 3 months ago and did not have it pre inspected, thought he was getting a great deal due to the low miles, even though he paid high book for it he figured he was basically getting a new car due to the fact it being a 2005 and only having 32544 miles on it should be like new.
Problem is vehicles that sit and never get used suffer as bad as abused lack of maintenance vehicles.

That clean cylinder on that head is from a failed head gasket, rusted thru from never being serviced or driven, sad really as this now adds $3300.00 to what they paid for the car. 

[robodad]

Ummmmmm.... I don't see a cylinder in your pics ? 

[rainshadow1]

Back when I was a car guy I found similar at the auction... NICE spotlessly clean interior, less than 5k per year on the clock, pedal wear consistent with the care and mileage, body straight, tires in nice condition perfectly even wear, opened the hood........ looked like I was the first person EVER to open the hood!!!

If it looks too good to be true....

[Woodchuck]

3.8L Ford? 

[Stein]

I love old people's cars, but like the ones that come with a 3" 3-ring binder of paper from the dealer that shows they had it in there every other week for maintenance.  Last one I bought the dealer changed the oil every 750-1,000 miles and must have "replaced blinker bulb" for $49 at least five times in the first two years for good measure.

[rainshadow1]

I love old people's cars, but like the ones that come with a 3" 3-ring binder of paper from the dealer that shows they had it in there every other week for maintenance.  Last one I bought the dealer changed the oil every 750-1,000 miles and must have "replaced blinker bulb" for $49 at least five times in the first two years for good measure.

Ford? Blinker bulb controls overdrive and the cruise control, you know!!! That's what I call engineering!

[Buckmark]

I love old people's cars, but like the ones that come with a 3" 3-ring binder of paper from the dealer that shows they had it in there every other week for maintenance.  Last one I bought the dealer changed the oil every 750-1,000 miles and must have "replaced blinker bulb" for $49 at least five times in the first two years for good measure.

Yep, serviced regularly and you are good to go, not serviced its a problem
My dad has a 2000 Honda with 21000 miles on it and he has it serviced every 6 months and fluids changed every 2 yrs. The car is cleaner than it was on the showroom floor.

I recently picked up a 2005 Sonata with 29k on it that we serviced since the customer bought it so i knew the history, its for my step daughter who still has a year to go till driving but to her its like a brand new car.

[Buckmark]

3.8L Ford? 

Made a few mortgage payments on those for sure back in the day, then the Subaru's and Toyotas and not to be outdone GM came along with the 3.1 then the 3.4 (which this is) to keep the ball rolling 

[Woodchuck]

People look at me like I'm nuts (which could be a legit debate) when I tell them that an older rig with low miles is not always such a great thing. Age is a thing for all things.

[blackpowderhunter]

People look at me like I'm nuts (which could be a legit debate) when I tell them that an older rig with low miles is not always such a great thing. Age is a thing for all things.

exactly.
tires...tires dont just wear out with mileage..age kills them too.  there is a date code on every tire so even if you're buying a used car with tires with tons of tread,  if theyre 5 years old, theyre shot.
boats.  people love to buy low hour outboards.. me, i dont want a 2005 boat with 110 hours.  that means the things sat with zero maintenance. i do over 100 hours a summer on my outboards

[Sandberm]

This one must have been serviced at Buckmarks shop?